wet vs. dry

I need some help- I just finished dry suit course day #1 w/ a dive in 47 degree quarry- it worked well and I felt comfortable unfortunately our dive today in open water where the temp would have been 60-65 was blown out and needs to be rescheduled for next month- my question while I wait a month is this- If I do not plan to dive in water colder than 60 degrees and my hands ( wearing 5 mm gloves) and face felt ok in that quarry at 47 degrees do I really need to be diving dry with the expense- How about buying a good 7mm wet or semi dry suit? - your thoughts ? previous to this my coldest dive was 68 degrees wearing a full 3 w/ a 2 mm shorty underneath and I got a little cold after40-45 minutes.

It depends on you. Personally, I'm OK diving wet to the low 50s. Once temps drop to the 40s, I want that dry suit. That's also when I'm ready to put on thermal gloves.

It depends on how you want to feel on the surface when you are done, or how cold you want to feel during repetitive dives.

My rule since buying a drysuit: If it is too cold for a 3 mm suit, it is drysuit time.

I fall very much where Walter does. If I never needed to go below 50F I would not bother with a drysuit. To me my diving is much more liberating wet.

Diving wet I am a bird, when dry I'm an astronaut on a mission.

In the end though it's really up to how you respond. I would certainly suggest that you start with a solid 7mm set. I'm partial to my Bare Arctic and the 7mm hooded step-in shorty. That will have you diving nice most anytime. If you decide to do enough diving in the coldest months to warrant the drysuit then get one. I have gone wet down to 40F and while I would not want to make a season of it I was fine. We frequently dip into the upper 40s at the ends of wetsuit season and it's no big deal.

The comfort of changing out apres dive makes me go dry as much as anything.

You will hear the axiom that "once you dive dry you will never want to dive wet". While it's obviously true for some it's far from universal and in my experience it is far from a majority as well.

Just because you went down the road of a DS course does not mean you need to tow the line.

Pete

There are people who dive the temperatures you're talking about in wetsuits. I dove off a charter boat here at home once with a guy who had been diving Puget Sound in a wet suit for 30 years. So it's possible.

But you can't use the analysis you're using to decide if it will work for you. Quite likely, the reason your hands and face were okay was because your core was kept warm. As long as your core temperature doesn't fall, you'll continue to circulate blood to your skin and your extremities, and they stay much warmer. If your core begins to cool, you shut down that circulation, and your hands get cold REAL FAST.

I guess one of the best indicators, to me, is that here in Puget Sound, where water temperatures vary between the mid 40s and the mid 50s, the vast majority of divers are diving dry despite the expense. That says something.

spectrum:

Diving wet I am a bird, when dry I'm an astronaut on a mission.

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Love this! It's sooooooo true!

I agree with Spectrum on the convenience of diving dry. Not many people I know like to put on cold, wet neoprene on a second or third dive of the day. It's harder to get on, harder to get off, and chills you to the core late in that multi-dive day.

And I prefer, "Diving wet I am an icicle, when dry I'm a walrus."

Cheers,
Austin

Its All about the U:

If I do not plan to dive in water colder than 60 degrees and my hands ( wearing 5 mm gloves) and face felt ok in that quarry at 47 degrees do I really need to be diving dry with the expense- How about buying a good 7mm wet or semi dry suit? - your thoughts ? previous to this my coldest dive was 68 degrees wearing a full 3 w/ a 2 mm shorty underneath and I got a little cold after40-45 minutes.

Click to expand...

I also think your answer will be based on personal preference and tolerance to cold.

spectrum:

Diving wet I am a bird, when dry I'm an astronaut on a mission.

Click to expand...

Good analogies, but for me, when diving wet, I am a cold, wet bird wrapped in rubber bands! (Switched to a drysuit after my first year.)

Diving dry, I like the fact that I'm always completely toasty, even on long dives and multiple dives.

But that's just me. I hate to be cold!

Dave C

it's all about the u:

like everybody has said, if you are safe and comfortable wet, go for it

i am a bit of a cold wus ... i like my dry suit in 70 degree water

i also like the redundant bouyancy should my wing fail. also, unlike neoprene, the dry suit does not lose bouyancy at depth. also, since cold is a contributing factor to narcosis, i like staying as warm as possible.

3-Ring Octopus:

when dry I'm a walrus.

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I am he as you are he
as you are me
and we are all together?